Drabbles
by Cranky Crocus
Summary: A collection of drabbles from high school. McHooch, Morag/Susan, Trellawny/Sinistra. Just some fun.
1. Chapter 1

empyrean \em-py-REE-uhn; -PEER-ee-\, _noun_:  
**1.** The highest heaven, in ancient belief usually thought to be a realm of pure fire or light.  
**2.** Heaven; paradise.  
**3.** The heavens; the sky.

Hooch smiled as she felt lips touch her own. She decided against opening her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the soft sun against her cheek. The room around her was quiet and pleasantly heavy with sleep, warm and embracing. Xiomara could picture it without opening her eyes. She could also picture Minerva bending over the side of the bed to offer the Quiddich instructor a gentle kiss. It was empyrean.

"Goodmorning, my love," she whispered into Hooch's ear. She felt her smile. She knew Xiomara was feigning sleep.

"Goodnight, my love," Hooch replied as she guided Minerva into the sheets.

roborant \ROB-uh-ruhnt\, _adjective_:

**1.** Strengthening; restoring vigor.  
**2.** A strengthening medicine; a tonic; a restorative.

Her skin is my homeland, her lips my lifeline. Her hair is my incense, her nails my razors. Her eyes are my windows, her center my sustenance.

Her very essence I cling to, my roborant to pull me through each and every day. Sometimes she says I am the same for her but I can't believe her. She has always been the energetic one.

"You were brilliant on the broom today," I say quietly.

"I can ride you better," she retorts with Ravenclaw wit.

We haven't lost our spunk. How can I lose anything when she is my absolute everything?

heterodox \HET-uh-ruh-doks\, _adjective_:

**1.** Contrary to or differing from some acknowledged standard, especially in church doctrine or dogma; unorthodox.  
**2.** Holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines.

Hooch's heterodox beliefs had once more landed her in trouble. McGonagall rolled her eyes as she walked once again to her office. That spike-haired woman was brilliant, but being her boss as well as her lover was exceedingly difficult.

"I simply believed that preparation for quick stops would be an ideal lesson for future flyers," Xiomara explained as, a half an hour later, she sat before Headmistress.

"And that is to be achieved by conjuring brick walls at random through the students' flights?"

"Only for the most excellent fliers. They valued and enjoyed the lesson."

"Yet one broke his arm."

sere \SEER\, _adjective_:

Dry; withered.

"Oh, don't be so sere, Minerva," Madam Hooch responded. "He broke it on his landing. Far worse has happened in regular Quidditch games even just last week."

"If he is breaking on a bad fall, how experienced could he be?" Minerva replied, her face tight.

Hooch raised an eyebrow, sat back in her chair and crossed her eyes.

McGonagall suddenly knew she was beat.

"Do I recall incorrectly that our dear Headmistress took a fall at the forefront of this year?" Hooch asked innocently. Her eyes grew wicked. "Or maybe the trip to Poppy is also part of my imagination."

facetious \fuh-SEE-shuhs\, _adjective_:

**1.** Given to jesting; playfully jocular.  
**2.** Amusing; intended to be humorous; not serious.

"You're just saying that to flatter me," Susan offered in a facetious tone. She smiled into Morag's dark, red-tinged hair before huffing and puffing. The taller girl laughed out right.

"Oh, you lie!" she countered, turning to peck Susan's lips. "Honestly. You are perfectly plump, and you're exactly the girl I want."

As she spoke she moved her hand to sit atop the Hufflepuff's fleshy side. The girl, who had previously had tears in her eyes, hugged her girlfriend close. She kissed the Ravenclaw's cheek delicately.

"Morag, you're perfect. You're more than I could ever imagine."

Morag smiled and blushed.

maudlin \MAWD-lin\, _adjective_:

Tearfully or excessively sentimental.

"Don't get all maudlin on me," Morag pleaded softly. "You know I don't like getting teary."

"Maudlin?" Susan repeated, tasting the word. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to Morag's eyelid. "You're cute when you're teary. But alright, I'll let it go."

The Scottish girl looked down and smiled, pressing her forehead to Susan's. "We're having a good day, aren't we?"

"Yes," the Hufflepuff replied with wide, white teeth in her open face. "It's because it's Sunday."

At Morag's blank face, she added, "No homework. That isn't cause for anything…maudlin, is it?"

Morag laughed and shook her head lightly.

solecism \SOL-uh-siz-uhm\, _noun_:

**1.** A nonstandard usage or grammatical construction; also, a minor blunder in speech.  
**2.** A breach of good manners or etiquette.  
**3.** Any inconsistency, mistake, or impropriety.

"They've been at it all day, huh?" Hooch remarked from her place by the window in the staff room.

"I didn't know you were prone to spying," Minerva responded solemnly, gazing down at her stack of scribbled papers. "I'm sure your solecism isn't appreciated."

"By whom?" the Brooms mistress shot back. "It's keeping you from boredom."

McGonagall huffed indignantly. "Boredom? This is grading."

"Synonymous."

"Mad wench," the Transfigurations Professor retorted.

"Old nag," Hooch called back.

They smiled as Hooch went back to polishing her boots and McGonagall went on to read about the transfiguration of deciduous tress.

"They don't mind."

gravitas \GRAV-uh-tahs\, _noun_:

High seriousness (as in a person's bearing or in the treatment of a subject).

"They do spend a lot of time together," Minerva commented softly, brushing her papers off to the side. "You don't think…?

Madam Hooch jerked up, caught off guard by her companion's sudden gravitas. The short-haired woman shrugged one shoulder and gazed out the window once more. "They're certainly serious, if that's what you mean."

"That's what I mean."

The two women turned to watch the other and, slowly, both smiled. Hooch nodded once and puckered her lips to send her love an air kiss. Minerva caught it with her quill and pressed the feather to her cheek.

"Serious is good."

matutinal \muh-TOOT-n-uhl\, _adjective_:

Relating to or occurring in the morning; early.

"Personally, I can't believe they're up so early," Hooch observed. "A Sunday and up before nine? They deserve a medal of honor."

"Yes, they must be in love to be so matutinal. Do you remember our early morning trysts?"

Hooch blushed but grinned over to her old friend. "It's a long way back to remember, dearest."

Her smile widened. "Our trysts were far less innocent, don't you think?"

McGonagall went on to blush in turn. "I suppose you could say so. They were impressive morning feats none the less. Surely we deserved a medal as well."

"For Sapphic cock-crow activities?"

coruscate \KOR-uh-skayt\, _intransitive verb_:

**1.** To give off or reflect bright beams or flashes of light; to sparkle.  
**2.** To exhibit brilliant, sparkling technique or style.

Trelawny stooped to retrieve her fallen crystal ball. It was exceedingly bad luck to drop a crystal ball. Her stomach flipped with the thought that she may have caused such a bad stir in her direct future.

The coruscate sphere rolled over the wooden floor, sounding much louder than she would have expected. It only made her plight worse.

"Bowling, you blind bat?" a layered voice whispered from the door.

"Not nearly, old bird."

Sybill looked up to find her eyes absorbed by dark, near-black pools that sparkled similarly to the ball.

"Hello, Sinistra," Sybill managed, plucking up the crystal.

serendipity \ser-uhn-DIP-uh-tee\, _noun_:

The faculty or phenomenon of making fortunate accidental discoveries.

"I heard a racket. I wondered if you had taken a fall over your chair," the spindly, dark-clad woman said in her mesmerizing voice.

Trelawny shook her fair curls and wondered over this strange serendipity—was it ill-fated as her crystal's fall suggested, or a meeting of pleasantries? She would have to distinguish that for herself.

"I merely dropped my Sight," she replied in good humor, smiling up at the woman. "Might you have brought yours?"

Sinistra strode forward and plucked up the crystal ball, holding it up toward the sky. She peered through it and laughed. "There, that's better."

riposte \rih-POST\, _noun_:

**1.** A quick thrust given after parrying an opponent's lunge in fencing.  
**2.** A quick and effective reply by word or act.  
**3.** To make a riposte.

"You would use my glass for the stars?" Trelawny replied, entranced by the taller woman's ringed fingers and pale skin.

"You would use my stars in your glass?" the woman opposed. The Divinations Professor smiled at her interest's riposte. She couldn't help herself: within seconds, she had stepped up and pressed herself to Sinistra's side.

"May I?" she whispered, wrapping around the Astronomy Professor to press their lips together.

The taller woman dropped the ball and made no comment when it landed on her foot and rolled raucously away. She pulled Trelawny to her front and continued their lip play.

confabulation \kon-FAB-yuh-lay-shuhn\, _noun_:

**1.** Familiar talk; easy, unrestrained, unceremonious conversation.  
**2.** (Psychology) A plausible but imagined memory that fills in gaps in what is remembered.

Trelawny blushed as she broke away to watch the crystal ball move across the room. The dance of their lips left sparks, yet felt entirely like the confabulation of old friends. And that was what they were, was it not?

"That was…"

"Indeed it…" Sinistra added.

They looked at each other and smiled, blushing like school girls. Maybe there had been something beyond their endless bickering.

"When did you…?" the dark-haired woman fumbled.

"I saw it in the stars," Sybill lied through her teeth.

Sinistra smiled. "I must have missed it."

Sybill watched the still-moving crystal ball. "You must have."

trenchant \TREN-chunt\, _adjective_:

**1.** Characterized by or full of force and vigor; as, "a trenchant analysis."  
**2.** Caustic; biting; severe; as, "trenchant criticism."  
**3.** Distinct; clear-cut; clearly or sharply defined.

"You think _what?!" _McGonagall nearly shrieked, quick to glance around the staff room afterward to be sure it remained empty.

Hooch laughed at the trenchant tone and cocked her head, crossing her legs at the ankle on the coffee table. She knit her fingers behind her short hair. "I think Sinistra and Trelawny are shacking up."

"What a distasteful way to say such a thing," Minerva scolded. "And certainly far below gossip. I could never imagine such a thing."

"I mean no offence, my lady," Hooch commented slowly with a wicked smile, "But you are not known for your imagination."

avatar \AV-uh-tar\, _noun_:

**1.** The incarnation of a deity -- chiefly associated in Hinduism with the incarnations of Vishnu.  
**2.** An embodiment, as of a quality, concept, philosophy, or tradition; an archetype.  
**3.** A temporary manifestation or aspect of a continuing entity.

"You are an avatar of the heavens," Sinistra teased as she opened the staff room door for her frizzy-haired companion. "I can merely hope to worship at your feet."

"Your feat," Trelawny corrected, "Is to tear your head away from those stars of yours."

"My stars?" the taller woman interjected, grinning wickedly. She allowed the tip of her tongue to part her lips. "I merely wish for the stars in your eyes at the moment."

Minerva looked up to Hooch, her face a combination of, 'I can't believe you were right' and 'if this continues I will lose my breakfast.'

sotto voce \SAH-toh-VOH-chee\, _adverb or adjective_:

Spoken low or in an undertone, as not to be overheard.

**2.** (Music) In very soft tones. Used chiefly as a direction.

"We should get out of here," Minerva whispered, sotto voce. "I can't stand another moment of this. Please tell me we didn't behave this way!"

"Guilty as charged," Hooch admitted even as she stood with her boots and polish. "Why don't we sit by the pond? I'm sure even Susan and Morag won't be nearly as fluffy."

Minerva smiled and gathered her belongings, joining Hooch in their exit just as the two starry lovebirds reached the staff kitchen. The two couples did not acknowledge the other's presence, though all four women held similar smirks.

Susan and Morag greeted them amiably.

limn \LIM\, _transitive verb_:

**1.** To depict by drawing or painting.  
**2.** To portray in words; to describe.

"I have a potions essay due Wednesday," Susan mentioned as she pulled Morag down to one of the big willows by tugging on her hand. "I don't understand it. Do newts even have gallbladders, or is that some sort of potions joke?"

"I would imagine it's a joke," an adult voice remarked from behind the tree. "Most of it is."

Susan and Morag jumped. They hadn't heard anyone approach. Soon enough they were both laughing.

"Good morning Madam Hooch!" they greeted in unison.

"Good morning students," a different voice said as a face appeared from around the tree.

"Proessor McGonagall!"

plenary \PLEE-nuh-ree; PLEN-uh-ree\, _adjective_:

**1.** Full in all respects; complete; absolute; as, plenary authority.  
**2.** Fully attended by all qualified members.

"Is your attendance plenary, or might you have more room for two?" the taller professor inquired as she stepped out from behind the tree. Madam Hooch followed.

"The staff room was getting a bit stuffy for us," the spike-haired instructor confessed with an uneven smile.

"It's practically all windows!" Susan blurted. She blushed immediately. Morag nudged her with a shoulder and chuckled.

"You're right," the woman responded quickly. Her laughter was rich and entirely amused. "Contrary to popular assumption, not all instructors get along. You mentioned a Potions paper, after all..."

"Xiomara Hooch!" McGonagall scolded. "Watch your tongue, hen."

synecdoche \si-NEK-duh-kee\, _noun_:

a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole or whole for a part or general for the special or vice versa

"Incorrect, I'm afraid," her aged companion stated with a wry smile, "for it is only a synecdoche of my nature."

Minerva resisted rolling her eyes and sat rigidly in the roots to the side of the willow tree. There were a few moments of tension as the students and teachers recognized that their conversation would be significantly altered with the presence of the other.

"Moraaag, you never answered my question! Gallbladders! Papers!" Susan whined in an amiable whisper, throwing herself back against the willow next to her friend.

"We'll make it to the library for your paper this week, promise."

malfeasance \mal-FEE-zuhn(t)s\, _noun_:

Wrongdoing, misconduct, or misbehavior, especially by a public official.

Susan relaxed, pleased that she would get help with her difficult assessment. Morag sighed. Their conversation was slow and whispered.

"I'm a bit concerned with some malfeasance I've noticed..." the girl mentioned. Susan laughed.

"Really? Even with Umbridge gone?" Susan responded. She had grown accustomed to her lady friend's larger vocabulary.

"More with a precious divinations professor we both have..." the taller female clarified. "Although I don't know why I deal with it..."

"What about Professor Trelawny?" Susan asked in an excited tone.

"Have you seen how she's been acting lately?"

The Hufflepuff's eyes grew wide. "How has she acted?"

bailiwick \BAY-luh-wik\, _noun_:

**1.** A person's specific area of knowledge, authority, interest, skill, or work.  
**2.** The office or district of a bailiff.

"It's not my baliwick, but I think she fancies another professor. That's not the part that bothers me. She skipped class last week from 'sickness,' as she had mentioned to the class a week before—she 'prophesized' it. I heard Flitwick discussing a row she had with Professor Sinistra during the time of our class."

Morag frowned as she said it under her breath. Her eyes moved in a flash from one professor to the other, then back to the lake. "I think she skipped our class to see Professor Sinistra, and used her _own_ supposed baliwick as an alibi."

alfresco \al-FRES-koh\, _adverb_:

**1.** In the open air; outdoors.  
**2.** Taking place or located in the open air; outdoor.

Susan blinked multiple times. She was always surprised when Morag opened up in many words—whether thoughts, emotions, or anything else. The alfresco meeting softened her friend's harsh accusations.

"You really think she skived off to be with a woman she hates?" Susan rephrased out of Morag's speech. The redhead looked skeptical, understandably.

"I think hate can be a deceitful feeling in itself. Do you remember us?"

Bone laughed out loud. "Yes! But I never hated you, you only hated me—and on prejudice, not on person."

"No arguing with that," the other said with a smile. "By history then..."

expeditious \ek-spuh-DISH-uhs\, _adjective_:

Characterized by or acting with speed and efficiency.

"They're together," Hooch interrupted with enough speed that Morag had not finished her final word. The two students turned at her expeditious speech.

All the faces around the outspoken women were shocked. The oldest recovered first.

"Xiomara Hooch, I can no longer allow you near students if you cannot control your speech!"

The three of them chuckled at that. McGonagall lost her steam when the only response was laughter.

"It's going to be around school soon, knowing Hogwarts and their behavior," Xio said to redeem herself. She shrugged her shoulder. "If they're going to act adolescent, it'll spread the same."

misprize \mis-PRYZ\, _transitive verb_:

**1.** To hold in contempt.  
**2.** To undervalue.

"Now it is," the Transfigurations Professor stated tersely.

"You misprize my students!" Madam Hooch exclaimed. "These two are not the rumor mill; they are members of the underground rumor cellar, where rumors go to die."

"Madam Hooch!" Susan called through her laugh. "You don't have me!"

"I did, and you didn't mention to anyone when I fell off my very own broom when I wasn't sleeping well."

"You fell off your broom?" the other student asked incredulously.

"See there!" Hooch remarked. "Proof! The friend didn't know! Also proof she's not a rumor miller as she didn't hear it from another..."

quotidian \kwoh-TID-ee-uhn\, _adjective_:

**1.** Occurring or returning daily; as, a quotidian fever.  
**2.** Of an everyday character; ordinary; commonplace.

"They come here every day now!" Hooch huffed as she sprawled out in her usual arm chair.

Minerva nodded and sighed, replying, "Yes, their quotidian visits are beginning to vex me."

"Beginning to?" the Brooms mistress repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You mean they didn't at first? I haven't been able to stand their visits since the first, with all that star-in-the-eyes kind of talk."

McGonagall smiled slightly and glanced toward the door, knowing the star-struck lovers would be walking in any moment. "Yes, I can't say it's entirely enjoyable. Maybe we should invent somewhat of a…plan."

"You've got it, girl."


	2. More

ostentation \os-ten-TAY-shuhn\, _noun_:

Excessive or pretentious display; boastful showiness.

Morag sighed as she approached the display of colorful and fragrant flowers on her way to the greenhouse. It provided far too much ostentation for her dulled tastes. She believed her ability to cope with the color came only from her association with Susan, who spent much of her time within the confines of the greenhouse and the fertile land surrounding them.

The sun was shining through the far off trees and directly down upon the giant greenhouses. The light glinted off the greenhouse directly into Morag's forest-colored eyes.

The dark-haired Ravenclaw had a question for her earthy Hufflepuff friend.

bellwether \BEL-weth-uhr\, _noun_:

A leader of a movement or activity; also, a leading indicator of future trends.

Susan greeted her with an open smile. She didn't appear to notice the smudge of dirt she had streaking both her cheek and her neck. She merely beckoned her friend inside.

"What's up?" the Hufflepuff regarded kindly.

Morag inspected the area quickly. The plants were greening up well—positive bellwether as to future plant health. She glanced at her mate with a questioning look.

"I think McGonagall and Hooch are up to something."

Susan glanced up from her work but her hands continued moving. "McGonagall and Hooch? I thought mainly Trelawny and Sinistra."

Morag felt her eyebrows shoot up. "What?!"

deus ex machina \DAY-uhs-eks-MAH-kuh-nuh; -nah; -MAK-uh-nuh\, _noun_:

**1.** In ancient Greek and Roman drama, a god introduced by means of a crane to unravel and resolve the plot.  
**2.** Any active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve an apparently insoluble difficulty.

At that moment another being entered the greenhouse. The shadow was large and soft, with a reflected posture of easy-going joy. The two students looked up to find a widely smiling face.

"Hello, you two!" Pomona greeted with her hands wide, as if welcoming both the plants and the humans. One of her eyebrows rose suddenly.

"You two wouldn't be gossiping, would you?"

The two students blushed on cue, Susan's deeper than Morag's light dusting.

"I'll take that as a yes." The older woman glanced around, prepared to be the dues ex machine for the situation. "It's all of them."

jollification \jol-ih-fuh-KAY-shuhn\, _noun_:

Merrymaking; festivity; revelry.

The Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff pair looked to Professor Sprout with shock registering in their features.

"Both?!" they repeated. They looked at each other and grinned when they realized their voices were equally high. Morag cleared her throat to prevent it from occurring again.

"I hope I haven't put a damper on your jollification…" Sprout remarked with a perverse little grin. "Professor McGonagall and Madame Hooch are deeply distraught by the turn of events with Professor Trelawny and Professor Sinistra."

Susan hadn't quite picked up her end of the conversation. Her face still broadcasted her confusion. "I don't understand."

Morag took her hand.


End file.
